1. Field
Apparatuses consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to a seal assembly, and more particularly, to a gas seal assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a gas seal assembly is used to seal an internal space containing a gas in a device. In particular, a gas seal assembly may be used for various devices, such as compressors, which increase pressure of a gas by reducing a volume thereof. Such a gas seal assembly may include various components.
A gas seal assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,854 (Title of the Invention: Shaft Seal, Applicant: DRESSER-RAND COMPANY). A related art gas seal assembly will now be described in detail with reference to FIG 1.
FIG 1 is a cross-sectional view of a related art gas seal assembly 1.
Referring to FIG 1, the related art gas seal assembly 1 includes an inner sleeve 5 mounted around a rotation axle 6, a rotational sealing sleeve 4 inserted into in the inside of the inner sleeve 5, and a sealing sleeve 2 contacting the rotational sealing sleeve 4. The related art gas seal assembly 1 further includes a forcing sleeve 9 contacting the sealing sleeve 2. The forcing sleeve 9 applies a force to the sealing sleeve 2 by being connected to a separate supporting sleeve 20 via a spring 10. The supporting sleeve 20 is mounted in a seal housing 8.
The related art gas seal assembly 1 configured as described above, includes many components of various types and a driving method thereof is complicated. In particular, the related art gas seal assembly 1 has a large number of parts, and accordingly, manufacturing costs are high and an assembling time is long. Thus, a structure of the related art gas seal assembly needs to be simplified.